The Lionesses At The Women’s World Cup 2023: All The Football Records Broken This Year
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8 months ago
It's been a historic year for football
Sunday 20 August marked a legendary day for English football as the Lionesses competed against Spain in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Despite their unfortunate defeat, the team’s achievements were record-breaking – and plenty of other teams broke records, too. Here’s your rundown of the most impressive stats from the Women’s World Cup 2023.
Women’s World Cup 2023: All The Football Records Broken This Year
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First World Cup Final For England’s Women’s Team
Although the Lionesses didn’t come away with the trophy, they still made history: their incredible game marked the first time the England women’s team has reached a World Cup Final, and it’s only the second time any England team has reached the final since 1966, when England won the tournament as the host nation.
The Lionesses are, of course, no strangers to success after they won the Women’s Euros in 2022, defeating Germany 2-1. Their accomplishments this year have been empowering for women across the UK and rallied strong support throughout the tournament.
Most Attended Women’s Sport Event Ever
This year’s Women’s World Cup subsequently became the most-attended women’s sporting event ever, with nearly two million fans attending the Australia and New Zealand matches (marking an increase of over 600,000 attendees compared to the 2019 tournament in France).
UK’s Most Watched Women’s Match
The 2023 game also set a new record for the UK’s most-watched women’s match, with an average of 13.3 million TV viewers – one of the biggest TV audiences of the year so far since King Charles’ Coronation in May, which was watched by more than 18 million people.
Oldest & Youngest Players
This year’s Women’s World Cup was historic not only for the Lionesses, but for numerous teams in the tournament. According to sporting analysis site ActionNetwork.com, 16 year-old Casey Phair (playing for South Korea) broke the record for the youngest player in the competition, while Vanina Correa (playing for Argentina) broke the record for the oldest goalkeeper, aged 39.
Captain With The Most World Cup Tournaments
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Canada’s Christine Sinclair extended her record as the captain with the most World Cup tournaments under her belt (after playing in five including this year’s competition), while Spain’s Salma Paralluelo is the first player ever (across men’s and women’s football) to be a champion at under-17, under-20 and senior level: as well as playing on the winning team at this year’s tournament, she also won the FIFA under-20 Women’s World Cup in 2022 & the FIFA under-17 Women’s World Cup in 2018.
USA Extend Record For Total Number Of Wins & Goals
Meanwhile, the USA extended their record for the total number of wins (now standing at 41) and the most goals scored (now 142). Sweden also broke their tie with the USA as the team with the most bronze medals, and many countries secured their first wins: Jamaica, South Africa and New Zealand all won their first match ever.
Football may not have come home this year, but it’s still a monumental achievement for women’s football – the future certainly looks bright for the Lionesses.
Data collected and fact-checked by ActionNetwork.com
